2 For mysteries unfathomable, praise God; for mysteries revealed, the king. 3 High as heaven thou must look, deep as earth, ere the mind of kings shall be made known to thee. 4 Rid silver of dross, and the cup shines bright; 5 rid the court of knaves, and the throne stands firm. 6 Never play the great lord at court, and mingle with men of rank; 7 who would not rather be beckoned to a higher place, than be put to the blush, and in the king’s presence?[1]

8 When men go to law, do not disclose hastily what thy eyes have witnessed;[2] it may be thou hast tainted a friend’s name, and there is no undoing the mischief. 9 To thy friend’s private ear open thy wrongs; vent the secret abroad, 10 and he, hearing it, will turn on thee with reproaches, nor wilt thou lightly recover thy good name. (Favour and friendship are thy protection; to lose them is a foul blot.[3])

11 Like a boss of gold amid silver tracery it shines out, the right word spoken. 12 Golden ear-ring nor pearl drop fits so well, as wise reproof given to a wise listener. 13 Find a trusty messenger; not snow in harvest-time will bring thee more relief. 14 Storm-wrack and cloud and no rain to follow; such thanks he wins that boasts much, and nothing accomplishes.

18 What is worse than javelin, sword, and arrow all at once? One that bears false witness against his neighbour. 19 What is more frail than rotting tooth, or sprained foot? A false friend trusted in the hour of need; as well lose thy cloak in mid winter. 20 Vinegar goes ill with natron, and song with a discontented heart. (Moth cannot fret garment, or worm wood, as care the heart.)

[2] ‘What thy eyes have witnessed’; some interpreters of the Hebrew text would connect the words so rendered with the preceding sentence.

[3] The words enclosed in brackets are found in the Septuagint Greek, but not in the Hebrew text.

[4] Some would render ‘through thy forbearance’, but we should hardly expect a subject’s attitude towards his prince to be so described.

[5] vv. 21, 22. See Rom. 12.20 and note there.

[6] Repeated from 21.9 above.

[7] The second half of this verse has given rise to much conjecture. It runs, literally, in the Hebrew, ‘and the searching out of their glory, glory’. The rendering given above is that presumably intended by the Latin, but it is difficult to derive this or any meaning from the Hebrew text as it stands.